What is it about wood beads? Especially wood bead garlands? They’ve been popular for a couple of years now. Honestly, I never saw the attraction……..until I did. I have no idea why I suddenly decided I HAD to have a wooden bead garland. It was a MUST. Okaaay, I went directly to Etsy. WOWZER! Those suckers are expensive! No way am I going to pay $60.00 for four feet of tiny wooden beads. Not gonna happen. (I wouldn’t pay $60.00 for large beads either.) So on to Amazon, the purveyor of all things, like Walmart only better. I found bead vendors, multiple bead vendors, in fact. Now what size? Deciding the size of the beads I wanted was the hardest part of this whole project! Because it involves an understanding of math. And you know I.don’t.do.math.

What the? How big is 25mm in real life? I finally found a source that not only used mm but also conveniently listed inches, or fractions of inches. Like a ¼ inch. Which I must not understand the actual size of a ¼ inch, but that’s another story.  I ordered the 1 inch size, figuring they would be substantial. And just for grins, I ordered ½ inch beads as well, because, you know, when throwing myself into a DIY project I’ve never tried before I always convince myself that it will be successful and I will want to do it again. I will be the wooden bead garland Queen. It’s thoughts like these that have resulted in my craft closet being the the place where projects go to die.

This is one of the easiest DIY projects EVER. I had one completed in under 20 minutes, 10 minutes of that spent trying to figure out how to keep the end of my string from fraying so that it would actually fit in the bead hole. After a few minutes of frustration, just before I hurled all the beads to the floor, I thought, wax!  I dug out my little tin of sticky wax and put a glob (technical term) on the end and just twisted it into a nice point.  Sticky wax is wonderful stuff. Also called museum wax or candle adhesive, it can be used to stabilize candles, or hold dainty items on a shelf, so that a slamming door or other trauma from say…..stampeding grandchildren won’t cause the precious collectables to fall to the floor.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the string. OK, get sturdy string or twine to string your beads. The size of your string should be compatible with the size of your beads. Thicker for larger beads, thinner will work for small ones. Even dental floss works but you’ll have to figure out how to tie a knot big enough to keep your beads from sliding off the floss. Ditto for any string. The three requirements for string are: 1. It has to be sturdy 2. It has to be small enough to go through the hole in the bead.  3. You must be able to tie a knot in the end large enough to hold the bead. It doesn’t matter what kind you use unless you want to string your garland loosely, so that the string, or ribbon shows as an added decorative element. Then some care should be taken to make sure that it’s attractive.

I have lots of jute twine. I could have used that because the holes in the 1 inch balls are large enough to take it. Also it knots wonderfully well. But I didn’t. Instead I used some “marking” string. I’m sure this string has an actual name, but since I don’t know it…….It’s the kind contractors use for marking level for concrete and brick work and other projects that require a large level space. It’s sturdy.  I took borrowed it from  the garage where it could used for um, outdoor projects……to bring it inside recently…..because it’s white and aged, so yeah, it came inside to use as decor. You can imagine here the face of Mr B.  But just get some string, or ribbon, or twine. Whatever.

I sat with HGTV on in the background because I can pay no attention during commercial breaks, there are a lot of them and they are loongg. Besides, everybody knows the shows don’t get interesting until after the third property is looked at and they get down to the design and decor part. So it’s perfect for mindless crafts. Once I had my supplies, a lap full of beads, and a length of string about 2 times longer than I needed it, I went to work. Made a big knot in one end, large enough that it wouldn’t let the bead slide right off the string, and I was in business.  Just thread the string through the beads to achieve your required length.  Finish by tying another large knot in the end. Trim the string.  I’ve seen some finished with tassles on the end, or bows or even tiny beads, I just tied mine in a knot as close to the last bead as possible.  4 feet and a big knot later….. I had a garland! WOOT!

I have no idea what to do with it now that I have it. This MUST HAVE has no place. Yet. I might drape it over the lights on the ceiling fan to add some excitement. (Things might get very exciting if that string ever breaks in the middle of the night. Can you say bead shot?) I thought about wrapping it around some ivy or other “planty like” (technical design term) garland for a spring table. I.HAVE.NO.IDEA. sigh. But hey! It looks cool on the dining room table where I threw it (OK, carefully placed), to show you the glorious new bead garland I.made.myself….. I made myself! And it didn’t cost $60.00. I think I got all the beads for less than $20.00 and the string was free unless you count the exasperation of Mr B when finding his string in the house as decor. Um, yeah, that could be defined as expensive. But hey! That garland……It adds texture and natural color to the tablescape.

This morning  I started layering things for a new centerpiece on the dining room table as a prelude to spring. Something simple and farmhouse. I won’t add any spring items to it,  however, because….it isn’t spring yet. But I did want a “farmy” centerpiece. (Another professional design term.)  So I used a length of grain sack, my favorite pitcher and a bowl I picked up recently at a flea market. They looked fine together, albeit a bit plain after all the holiday and winter decor. But I liked it. Simple. And I loved the lines of the two pieces together. Still, it needed something. But what?

I’m already tired of  using the usual greens and seeded eucalyptus and I definitely didn’t want to use cotton stems. I didn’t want to over-do it. Eureka! The garland was already on the end of the table waiting for its photo. I didn’t overthink it, like I usually do,  I just placed it around the bowl and pitcher and let a few inches of the garland drape over the side of the bowl. I LIKE it. It gave just enough texture. It added just enough to take the vignette from flat to interesting. For now the bead garland that I.Made.Myself will live on the table. While I make another garland, this time with the ½ inch beads. Yep, this is a super easy peasy project. One whose parts will not go off to die a lonely death in the closet.  And I will enjoy wearing my crown as Queen of bead garland.

Create a sanctuary. Create the home you see in your heart.

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